Ernie Banks, the greatest power-hitting shortstop of the 20th century and an unconquerable optimist whose sunny disposition never dimmed in 19 seasons with the perennially stumbling Chicago Cubs, died on Friday in Chicago. He was 83.
His death, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was announced by Major League Baseball and the Cubs. A lawyer representing the family later said the cause was a heart attack that Banks had on Friday.
President Obama and his wife, Michelle, called Banks “an incredible ambassador for baseball, and for the city of Chicago” in a joint statement.
“It’s a beautiful day, let’s play two” became the mantra of the man known as Mr. Cub, a fixture in what he called the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. The most popular Cub ever in a franchise dating to the 1870s, Banks became as much an institution in Chicago as the first Mayor Daley, Studs Terkel, Michael Jordan and George Halas.
Banks cut a slender figure at the plate in his right-handed stance, at 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds, but he whipped a light bat with powerful wrists, hitting 512 home runs. He was named the most valuable player in the National League in 1958 and 1959, the first to win the award in consecutive years, although the Cubs finished tied for fifth place each time. He was an All-Star in 11 seasons and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility.
Banks became the Cubs’ first black player on Sept. 17, 1953, six years after Jackie Robinson broke the modern major league color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Like Robinson, he had played for the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the Negro leagues’ best-known ball clubs, and when he joined the Cubs, many major league teams were still all white. He was among the first black stars of the modern game, along with Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the Dodgers, Larry Doby with the Cleveland Indians, Hank Aaron with the Milwaukee Braves and Monte Irvin and then Willie Mays with the New York Giants.
Banks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, from Obama in 2013. “I handed the president a bat that belonged to Jackie Robinson,” he told Sports Illustrated the next year. “The president held the bat in his hands — that was a thrill.”
Apart from Banks’s slugging feats, Obama hailed his “cheer and his optimism and his eternal faith that someday the Cubs would go all the way.”
“And that’s serious belief,” Obama added, to laughter. “That is something that even a White Sox fan like me can respect.”
Long after retiring, Banks recalled the sweltering midsummer’s day in 1969 when he bubbled over in a phrase that became his trademark.
“We were in first place, and all the reporters were already in the locker room when I arrived at Wrigley for a game with the Cardinals,” Banks told The Arizona Daily Star. “I walked in and said: ‘Boy, it’s a beautiful day. Let’s play two.’ They all thought I was crazy.”
Banks was the ninth player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, and when he retired after the 1971 season, his 293 home runs as a shortstop and his 47 homers in 1958 were career and single-season records for that position, marks eclipsed by Alex Rodriguez. He appeared in 2,528 games for the Cubs, a record for regular-season appearances by a player who never reached the postseason, playing at shortstop until the early 1960s, when he switched to first base because of leg problems.
Each spring, Banks predicted a pennant for the Cubs, who had not won a World Series since 1908 or a National League title since 1945. But each October he was back at home, most painfully in 1969, the year the Cubs experienced one of baseball’s most memorable collapses when they were overtaken by the Miracle Mets. Through all the losing seasons, he exuded an unbridled joy.
“Ernie was the eternal optimist,” the former Cubs second baseman Glenn Beckert told Peter Golenbock in “Wrigleyville” (1996). “Everything is fine, a great day. You’d go back to Chicago from the nice weather in Arizona. A lot of times we’d open against St. Louis, and when you did that, Bob Gibson was going to be their pitcher. Gray, overcast, 32 degrees in Wrigley, big crowd, start snowing about the sixth inning, and Ernie says: ‘Isn’t this a great day? We’ll keep nice and cool so we don’t get overheated.’ ”
Banks’s fellow Hall of Famer and longtime teammate Billy Williams told MLB.com on Banks’s death: “He always told Bob Gibson, ‘This guy is going to hit a home run off you today.’ We’d say, ‘Leave Bob Gibson alone.’ ”
Williams said that when he was asked whether Banks was always like that, “I’d say, ‘From the minute he woke up to the minute he went to bed, he’s the same way with a positive attitude and a joy to be around.’ ”
Ernest Banks was born in Dallas on Jan. 31, 1931, one of 12 children of Eddie and Essie Banks. His father, a former semipro player in black leagues in Texas, picked cotton and worked as a janitor in a grocery chain. His mother wanted him to become a minister, like one of his grandfathers.
Banks played softball (there was no baseball team) at Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas as well as football, and he competed in track and field. During his high school summers, he toured with a black semipro baseball team, the Colts, based in Amarillo, Tex.
After graduating from high school in 1950, Banks played one season for the Monarchs, then spent two years in the Army, returned to the Monarchs, and was sold to the Cubs in September 1953 for $10,000.
Another black player, Gene Baker, a slick-fielding shortstop, was called up by the Cubs at the same time after spending four seasons with their Los Angeles team in the Pacific Coast League. Banks became the first black player in a Cubs lineup because Baker was injured.
In his major league debut, Banks was 0 for 3 with an error against the Phillies in a 16-4 loss. But three days later, he hit his first major league homer, at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, off the Cardinals’ Gerry Staley.
Banks became the Cubs’ regular shortstop in 1954, with Baker installed at second base. He hit 19 home runs that season, then emerged as a star in 1955.
Banks had been using a 34-ounce bat, but toward the end of the 1954 season he switched to a 31-ounce model. That helped him handle outside pitches and enabled him to whip the bat, taking advantage of his strong wrists, which he had developed playing handball.
“Everybody believed you had to have a big piece of lumber and then muscle the ball over the fence,” Banks told The Austin American-Statesman in 1994. “But by the time I, and Hank Aaron, another guy who did it with his wrists, were through, there were a lot of guys ordering light bats and playing handball.”
At a time of civil rights struggles in America, Banks ventured few thoughts beyond the baseball world. In his autobiography, “Mr. Cub,” written with Jim Enright (1971), he commented on the perception that as a celebrity, he should have spoken out.
“Some people feel that because you are black you will never be treated fairly, and that you should voice your opinions, be militant about them,” he wrote. “I don’t feel this way. You can’t convince a fool against his will.”
He added, “I don’t think it’s up to black athletes to get involved in political or racial issues.”
Banks set a major league record for grand slam home runs in a season when he hit five in 1955, and he hit more than 40 home runs five times. He led the National League in home runs and in runs batted in twice. He had 2,583 hits, drove in 1,636 runs and had a career batting average of .274.
He set single-season records for fewest errors (12) and best fielding average by a shortstop (.985) in 1959 and he won a Gold Glove award in 1960, his last full season at shortstop.
Banks was a player-coach in the late 1960s with the Cubs, and after his playing career ended, he spent two years as a full-time coach for the team. He later did part-time promotional work for the Cubs. When the team dropped him from that role in June 1983, saying he had missed some scheduled appearances, there was consternation in the Chicago press. “Cubs Snub Mr. Cub,” one headline read.
But the Cubs had Banks back as an honorary member of their 1984 divisional champions when they played the San Diego Padres in the league championship series — and lost.
Banks also served as a corporate spokesman and founded the Ernie Banks Live Above and Beyond Foundation, which raised money for charities.
He was the first player to have his jersey number retired by the Cubs, and his No. 14 flies from the left-field foul pole at Wrigley Field on game days. A statue depicting Banks in his batting stance was unveiled outside the ballpark in 2008. “Let’s Play Two” is inscribed on its base.
Banks was married four times. He and his fourth wife, Liz, who is among his survivors, adopted a newborn girl, Alyna, when he was 77; he had twin sons, Joey and Jerry, and a daughter, Jan, with his second wife, Eloyce. His first three marriages ended in divorce. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.
When Banks was elected to the Hall of Fame in January 1977, he talked about his outlook on life:
“I guess my critics say: He must be crazy. Nothing can be that beautiful. But when you think that there are so many people around the world who have nothing, you realize how lucky you are to be making a living in the big leagues. There’s an unbelievable, indescribable love for baseball in Wrigley Field.”
Ernie Banks, byname of Ernest Banks (born January 31, 1931, Dallas, Texas, U.S.—diedJanuary 23, 2015, Chicago, Illinois), American professional baseball player, regarded as one of the finest power hitters in the history of the game. Banks starred for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971. An 11-time All-Star, Banks was named the National League’s (NL) Most Valuable Player for two consecutive seasons (1958–59). He hit more than 40 home runs in five different seasons, leading the NL in that category in 1958 and 1960. He also led the league in 1958–59 in runs batted in.
Banks excelled in football, basketball, track and field, and baseball at his Dallas high school. At age 17 he joined a barnstorming Negro league team at a salary rate of $15 per game. In 1950 legendary Negro league star Cool Papa Bell signed him to the Kansas City Monarchs. Soon after, Banks spent two years in the U.S. Army, after which he returned to the Monarchs. His stay there was short-lived, however, as the major leagues, recently integrated, were eager to take advantage of the wealth of talent in the Negro leagues.
Signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1953, Banks soon established himself as one of the league’s leading power hitters. In addition to his potent bat, he proved to be a skilled defensive player, setting a single-season mark for fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1959. After injuries limited his mobility, Banks moved to first base in 1962.
Banks was known for his enthusiasm and love of the game, his trademark cry of “let’s play two!” reflecting the pure enjoyment he took in baseball. When he retired in 1971, he was the holder of most of the Chicago Cubs’ offensive records and had earned the nickname “Mr. Cub” among the team’s fans. In his career Banks totaled 512 home runs and 1,636 runs batted in. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977; he was the eighth player to be elected in his first year of eligibility. In 2013 Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ernie Banks, byname ofErnest Banks (b.January 31, 1931, Dallas, Texas — d. January 23, 2015, Chicago, Illinois), was American professional baseball player, regarded as one of the finest power hitters in the history of the game. Banks starred for the Chicago Cubsfrom 1953 to 1971. An 11-time All-Star, Banks was named the National League’s (NL) Most Valuable Player for two consecutive seasons (1958–59). He hit more than 40 home runs in five different seasons, leading the NL in that category in 1958 and 1960. He also led the league in 1958–59 in runs batted in.
Banks excelled in football, basketball, track and field, and baseball at his Dallas high school. At age 17 he joined a barnstorming Negro League team at a salary rate of $15 per game. In 1950 legendary Negro League star Cool Papa Bell signed him to the Kansas City Monarchs. Soon after, Banks spent two years in the United States Army, after which he returned to the Monarchs. His stay there was short-lived, however, as the major leagues, recently integrated, were eager to take advantage of the wealth of talent in the Negro leagues.
Signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1953, Banks soon established himself as one of the league’s leading power hitters. In addition to his potent bat, he proved to be a skilled defensive player, setting a single-season mark for fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1959. After injuries limited his mobility, Banks moved to first base in 1962.
Banks was known for his enthusiasm and love of the game, his trademark cry of “let’s play two!” reflecting the pure enjoyment he took in baseball. When he retired in 1971, he was the holder of most of the Chicago Cubs’ offensive records and had earned the nickname “Mr. Cub” among the team’s fans. In his career Banks totaled 512 home runs and 1,636 runs batted in. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977; he was the eighth player to be elected in his first year of eligibility. In 2013 Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Banks, born and raised in Dallas, Texas, entered Negro league baseball in 1950, playing for the Kansas City Monarchs. He served in the US military for two years and returned to the Monarchs before beginning his major league career in September 1953. Banks made his first MLB All-Star Game appearance in 1955. He received two consecutive National League Most Valuable Player awards in 1958 and 1959, and received his first and only Gold Glove award for shortstop in 1960.
He was transferred to the left field position during the 1961 season followed by a final change to first base that year. Cubs manager Leo Durocher became frustrated with Banks in the mid-1960s, saying that the slugger's performance was faltering, but he felt that he was unable to remove Banks from the lineup due to the star's popularity among Cubs fans. Banks was a player-coach from 1967 through 1971. In 1970, Banks hit his 500th career home run. In 1972, he joined the Cubs coaching staff after his retirement as a player.
Banks was active in the Chicago community during and after his tenure with the Cubs. He founded a charitable organization, became the first black Ford Motor Companydealer in the United States, and made an unsuccessful bid for a local political office. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1999, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2013, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to sports. Banks lived in the Los Angeles area.
Banks was born in Dallas, Texas, to Eddie and Essie Banks on January 31, 1931.[5] He had eleven siblings, ten of them younger.[6] His father, who had worked in construction and was a warehouse loader for a grocery chain, played baseball for black semi-pro teams in Texas.[5] As a child, Banks was not very interested in baseball, preferring swimming, basketball and football. His father bought him a baseball glove for less than three dollars at the local five and dime store. He bribed Banks with nickels and dimes to play catch.[7] Ernie's mother encouraged him to follow one of his grandfathers into a career as a minister.[8]
He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1950.[9] He lettered in basketball, football, and track.[10] While the school did not have a baseball team, he played fastpitch softball for a church team during the summer. He was also a member of the Amarillo Colts, a semipro baseball team.[11] History professor Timothy Gilfoyle wrote that Banks was discovered by Bill Blair, a family friend who scouted for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League.[5] Other sources report that he was noticed by Cool Papa Bell of the Monarchs.[12][13]
In 1951, Banks was drafted into the US Army and served in Germany during the Korean War. He suffered a knee injury in basic training, but recovered after a few weeks of rest and therapy.[14] He served as a flag bearer in the 45th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion at Fort Bliss and while there he played with the Harlem Globetrotters on a part-time basis.[5] In 1953, he was discharged from the army and finished playing for the Monarchs that season with a .347 batting average.[12][15] Banks later said, "Playing for the Kansas City Monarchs was like my school, my learning, my world. It was my whole life."[13] In fact, when he was sold to the Chicago Cubs, Banks was reluctant to leave his Monarchs teammates.[13]
Banks signed with the Cubs in the fall of 1953. He made his major league debut at Wrigley Field on September 17 at age 22, and played in ten games. He became one of a handful of former Negro league players who joined MLB teams without playing in the minor leagues,[12] and was also the Cubs' first black player. In regard to Banks' view of race in baseball, authors Larry Moffi and Jonathan Kronstadt wrote that Banks "just was not the crusading type. He was so grateful to be playing baseball for a living, he did not have time to change the world, and if that meant some people called him an Uncle Tom, well, so be it. Banks was not about changing anyone's mind about the color of his skin; he was about baseball, pure and simple."[16]
He received a visit from Jackie Robinson during that first game he played that influenced his quiet presence in baseball. Robinson told Banks, "Ernie, I'm glad to see you're up here so now just listen and learn."[17] "For years, I didn't talk and learned a lot about people."[17] Over time when Banks felt like becoming more vocal, he discussed the issue with teammate Billy Williams, who advised him to remain quiet. Williams drew the analogy of fish that get caught once they open their mouths. "I kept my mouth shut but tried to make a difference. My whole life, I've just wanted to make people better", Banks said. (Chicago Tribune article, 2013)[17]
In 1954, Banks' double play partner during his official rookie season was Gene Baker, the second Cubs black player. Banks and Baker roomed together on road trips and became the first all-black double-play combination in major league history.[18] When Steve Bilko played first base, Cubs announcer Bert Wilson referred to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko".[19] Banks hit 19 home runs and finished second to Wally Moon in Rookie of the Year voting.[20] Banks became a participant in a trend toward much lighter baseball bats after he accidentally picked up a teammate's bat and liked how easy it was to generate bat speed.[7]
In 1955, Banks hit 44 home runs, had 117 RBIs, and batted .295. He played in his first of 14 All-Star Games that season.[20] His home run total was a single-season record among shortstops.[21] He also set a thirty year record of five single-season grand slam home runs.[22] Banks finished third that year in the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind Roy Campanella and Duke Snider.[23] The Cubs finished with a 72–81 win-loss record, winning only 29 of 77 road games.[24] In 1956, Banks missed 18 games due to a hand infection, breaking his 424 consecutive games played streak.[25] He finished the season with 28 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .297 batting average. In 1957, he finished the season with 43 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .285 batting average.[20]
In 1958 and 1959, Banks became the first NL player to be awarded back-to-back NL MVP Awards. He hit .313 and led the NL with 47 HR in 1958 and hit .304 with 45 HR in 1959, and was the league's RBI leader with 129 and 143 RBI in both of those seasons.[26] In 1959, the Cubs came the closest to a winning season since Banks' arrival, finishing with a 74–80 record.[27] In 1960, Banks hit a league-leading 41 HR, had 117 RBI, and led the league in games played for the sixth time in seven years.[20] He also received the league's annual Gold Glove award for shortstop that year.
In 1961, Banks began having problems with his knee while playing shortstop when moving to his left or right side. It was the same knee he had injured while in the Army. After playing in 717 consecutive games, he pulled himself from the Cubs lineup for at least four games, ending his pursuit of the NL consecutive games played streak (895 games) set by Stan Musial.[29] In May, the Cubs announced that Jerry Kindall would replace Banks at shortstop and that Banks would move to left field.[30] Banks later said, "Only a duck out of water could have shared my loneliness in left field."[31] Banks credited center fielder Richie Ashburn with helping him learn how to play left field; in 23 games he committed only one error. In June, he was moved to first base, learning that position from former first baseman and Cubs coach Charlie Grimm.[32]
The Cubs began playing under the College of Coaches in 1961, a system in which decisions were made by a group of 12 coaches rather than by one manager.[33] By the 1962 season, Banks hoped to return to shortstop, but the College of Coaches had determined that he would remain at first base indefinitely.[34] In May 1962, Banks was hit in the head by a fastball from former Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky and was taken off the field unconscious.[35] He sustained a concussion on Friday, was in the hospital for two nights, sat out a Monday game, and hit three home runs and a double on Tuesday.[36]
In May 1963, Banks set a single-game record for putouts by a first baseman (22).[37] However, he caught the mumps that year and finished the season with 18 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a .227 batting average. Despite Banks' struggles that season, the Cubs managed to have their first winning record since the 1940s. Banks, following his doctor's orders, skipped his usual off season participation in handball and basketball and began the 1964 season weighing seven pounds more than the previous year. In February, Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs, was killed in a plane crash.[38] Banks finished the season with 23 home runs, 95 RBI's, and a .264 batting average.[20] The Cubs finished in eighth place in 1964, losing over $315,000.[39] In 1965, Banks hit 28 home runs, had 107 RBI's, a .265 batting average, and played in the All-Star Game. On September 2, he hit his 400th home run.[20][40] The Cubs had finished the season with a baseball operations deficit of $1.2 million, though this was largely offset by television and radio revenue as well as the rental ofWrigley Field to the Chicago Bears football team.[41]
Leo Durocher was hired to be the Cubs manager in 1966. The Cubs hoped that Durocher could inspire renewed interest in the Chicago fan base.[42] Banks hit only 15 home runs and the Cubs finished the 1966 season in last place with a 59–103 win-loss record, the worst season of Durocher's career.[43] From the time that Durocher arrived in Chicago, he was frustrated at his inability to trade or bench the aging Banks. In Durocher's autobiography, the manager recalled that "he was a great player in his time. Unfortunately, his time wasn't my time. Even more unfortunately, there was not a thing I could do about it. He couldn't run, he couldn't field; toward the end, he couldn't even hit. There are some players who instinctively do the right thing on the base paths. Ernie had an unfailing instinct for doing the wrong thing. But I had to play him. Had to play the man or there would have been a revolution in the street."[44] Banks, on the other hand, said of Durocher, "I wish there had been someone around like him early in my career... He's made me go for that little extra needed to win."[45] Durocher served as Cubs manager until midway through 1972, the season after Banks retired.[20][46]
In Mr. Cub, a memoir published around the time that Banks retired, the slugger said that too much had been made of the racial implications in his relationship with Durocher and he summarized his thoughts on race relations:
My philosophy about race relations is that I'm the man and I'll set my own patterns in life. I don't rely on anyone else's opinions. I look at a man as a human being; I don't care about his color. Some people feel that because you are black you will never be treated fairly, and that you should voice your opinions, be militant about them. I don't feel this way. You can't convince a fool against his will... If a man doesn't like me because I'm black, that's fine. I'll just go elsewhere, but I'm not going to let him change my life.[47]
The Cubs named Banks a player-coach for the 1967 season. Banks competed with John Boccabella for a starting position at first base.[48] Shortly thereafter, Durocher named Banks the outright starter at first base.[49] Banks went to the All-Star Game, hit 23 home runs, and drove in 95 runs that year.[20] After the 1967 season, an article in Ebony pointed out that Banks had not been thought to make more than $65,000 (equal to $459,736 today) in any season. Banks had received a pay increase from $33,000 to $50,000 between his MVP seasons in 1958 and 1959, but Ebony reported that several MLB players were making $100,000 at the time.[6]
Banks won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1968, an honor recognizing playing ability and personal character.[50] The 37-year-old Banks hit 32 home runs, had 83 RBI's, and finished that season with a .246 batting average.[20] In 1969, Banks came the closest to helping the Cubs win the National League pennant; the Cubs fell out of first place after holding an 81⁄2 game lead in August.[51] Banks made his eleventh and final All-Star Game appearance that season (2 games were played 1959 through 1962).[20] Banks hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970 at Chicago's Wrigley Field[40] On December 1, 1971, Banks retired as a player but continued to coach for the Cubs until 1973. He was an instructor in the minor leagues for the next three seasons and also worked in the Cubs front office.[52]
Banks finished his career with 512 home runs, and his 277 home runs as a shortstop were a career record at the time of his retirement. (Cal Ripken, Jr now holds the record for most home runs as a shortstop with 345.[53]) Banks holds Cubs records for games played (2,528), at-bats (9,421), extra-base hits (1,009), and total bases (4,706).[54] Banks excelled as an infielder as well. He won a National League Gold Glove Awardfor shortstop in 1960. He led the NL in putouts five times and was the NL leader in fielding percentage as shortstop three times and once as first baseman.[20]
Banks holds the major league record for most games played without a postseason appearance (2,528).[55] In his memoir, citing his fondness for the Cubs and owner Philip K. Wrigley, he said that he did not regret signing with the Cubs rather than one of the more successful baseball franchises.[56] Banks's popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine".[57][58] Banks was known for hiscatchphrase, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!", expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his pure love for the game of baseball.[57]
Banks married his first wife Mollye Ector in 1953. He had proposed to her in a letter from Germany and they married when he returned to the US.[59] He filed for divorce two years later. The couple briefly reconciled in early 1959.[60] By that summer, they agreed on a divorce settlement that would pay $65,000 to Ector in lieu of alimony.[61] Shortly thereafter, Banks eloped with Eloyce Johnson. Within a year, the couple had twin sons. They had a daughter four years after that.[62]
A lifelong Republican, Banks ran for alderman in Chicago in 1963.[63] He lost the election and later said, "People knew me only as a baseball player. They didn't think I qualified as a government official and no matter what I did I couldn't change my image. ... What I learned, was that it was going to be hard for me to disengage myself from my baseball life and I would have to compensate for it after my playing days were over."[64]
Ector filed suit against Banks in 1963 for failure to make payments on a life insurance policy as agreed upon in their divorce settlement.[65]
In 1966, Banks worked for Seaway National Bank in the offseason and enrolled in a banking correspondence course.[6] He bought into several business ventures during his playing career, including a gas station.[6]Though he had been paid modestly in comparison to other baseball stars, Banks had taken the advice of Wrigley and invested much of his earnings. He later spent time working for an insurance company and for New World Van Lines. Banks began building assets that would be worth an estimated $4 million by the time he was 55 years old.[47]
Banks and Bob Nelson became the first black owners of a U.S. Ford Motor Company dealership in 1967. Nelson had been the first non-white commissioned officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II; he operated an import car dealership before the venture with Banks.[66] Banks was appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1969.[67] On a trip to Europe, Banks was able to visit the Pope, who presented him with a medal that became a proud possession.[6]
Banks was divorced from Eloyce in 1981. She received several valuable items from his playing career as part of their divorce settlement, including his 500th home run ball. She sold the items not long after the divorce.[68] In 1984, he married a woman named Marjorie.[69] In 1993, Marjorie was part of a group that met with MLB executives about race relations in baseball after allegations of racial slurs surfaced againstCincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott.[70] Banks married Liz Ellzey in 1997 and Hank Aaron served as his best man.[71] In late 2008, Banks and Ellzey adopted an infant daughter.[72]
Banks was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility.[76] He received votes on 321 of the 383 ballots.[20] Though several players were selected through the Veterans Committee and the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues that year, Banks was the only player elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was inducted on August 8 of that year. During his induction speech, Banks said, "We've got the setting – sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!"[77]
The Cubs retired Banks's uniform number 14 in 1982.[54] He was the first player to have his number retired by the team.[78] He was employed as the corporate sales representative for the Cubs at the time of the ceremony.[79] No other numbers were retired by the team for another five years, when Billy Williams received the honor. Through the 2014 season, only six former Cubs, along with Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson, have had their numbers retired by the organization.[80]
Banks served as a team ambassador after his retirement, though author Phil Rogers points out that the team had never placed Banks in a position of authority or significant influence.[81] In 1983, shortly after Wrigley sold the team to the Tribune Company, Banks and the Cubs briefly severed ties. Rogers wrote that Banks was viewed as "something of a crazy uncle who hung around the house for no apparent reason"[81] after the sale. Rogers says that team officials anonymously told the press that Banks was fired because he was unreliable. Soon Banks and the Cubs reconciled and the former shortstop began making appearances on behalf of the Cubs again.[81]
In June 2006, Crain's Chicago Business reported that Banks was part of a group looking into buying the Chicago Cubs, in case the Tribune Company decided to sell the club.[86] Banks established a charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation which assists youth and the elderly with self-esteem, healthcare and other opportunities.[87] In 2008, Banks released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay; all of its proceeds are donated to his foundation.[88] Banks was an ordained minister and he presided at the wedding of MLB pitcher Sean Marshall.[89]
On March 31, 2008, a statue of Banks ("Mr. Cub") was unveiled in front of Wrigley Field.[90] That same year, Eddie Vedder released the song "All The Way"; Banks had asked Vedder to write a song about the Cubs as a birthday gift.[91] In 2009, Banks was named a Library of Congress Living Legend, a designation that recognizes those "who have made significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage."[92] On August 8, 2013, he was announced as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[93] Banks was honored with 15 other people, including Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. He said that he presented President Obama with a bat that belonged to Jackie Robinson.[94]
He remained close to the Cubs team and made frequent appearances at their spring training grounds, HoHoKam Stadium in Arizona. Author Harry Strong wrote in 2013 that "the Chicago Cubs do not have a mascot, but they hardly need one when the face of the franchise is still so visible."[95]
Banks died of a heart attack at a Chicago hospital on January 23, 2015, shortly before his 84th birthday.[96] Reactions and tributes were widespread. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement: “Ernie Banks was more than a baseball player. He was one of Chicago’s greatest ambassadors. He loved this city as much as he loved — and lived for — the game of baseball."[97] President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called Banks "an incredible ambassador for baseball, and for the city of Chicago." President Obama hailed his "cheer and his optimism and his eternal faith that someday the Cubs would go all the way."[2] Finally, outgoing Commissioner Bud Selig, on his final day in office, posted this tribute through social media:[98]
"Ernie Banks was synonymous with a childlike enthusiasm for baseball. It was not just great talent but also his relentless spirit of optimism that made him a back-to-back National League MVP, a Hall of Famer, a member of our All-Century Team, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, indeed, forever 'Mr. Cub.' His joyous outlook will never be forgotten by fans of the Cubs and all those who love Baseball.
"On a day when I finish my duties as the Commissioner of America's National Pastime, I know well that Ernie was one of the special individuals who embodied its goodwill all his life. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ernie's family, friends, Cubs fans and his countless admirers throughout our game."
We called him Mr. Cub, and to be honest, Ernie Banks did not have much competition for the title. The Cubs of the late 1950s and early ’60s aspired to nothing more than mediocrity. This was a modest enough goal. And yet the team always fell short. Mediocrity hovered maddeningly above its grasp.
It was the crosstown White Sox who went to the World Series in 1959. This was tough on a 10-year-old Cubs fan like me. As a counterweight, what did I have to boast about? Well, the Cubs had Ernie Banks, that’s what. And he was the best ballplayer in all of Chicago. Maybe the best in all of baseball.
Back then, to be a young Cubs fan was to adore this wonderful man. To pretend to be him. To pull out a blue crayon and write 14, his uniform number, on the back of a white T-shirt. To wiggle your fingers around the handle of the bat just as he did, like a virtuoso fingering the keys of a saxophone.
Banks, a power-hitting shortstop, was the National League’s most valuable player in 1958 and 1959. But he was more than a superstar. He was a walking billboard for baseball — or rather baseball as a homespun ideal. Think of every ode to the glory of the game, the dust on the basepaths, the smell of freshly cut grass in the outfield, the slugger promising a home run to the hospitalized child.
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Memorials in front of Wrigley Field, the day after Banks died Friday at the age of 83.CreditNam Y. Huh/Associated Press
Banks, who died Friday at 83, played baseball — and lived life — with infectious enthusiasm. His face seemed incapable of anything but a smile. His temperament included only two outlooks: sunny and sunnier. It delighted him to be at the ballpark. He liked to say, “It’s a beautiful day; let’s play two.” He said this even though the Cubs finished below .500 during 13 of his first 14 seasons. Playing two was likely to mean losing two.
His career spanned 19 years, 1953 to 1971, all with the lowly Cubs, who haven’t won the pennant since 1945. P. K. Wrigley, the chewing gum mogul and back then the team’s owner, assessed this long run of woe in 1960 and declared: “I am thoroughly disgusted. I can’t take it anymore.”
Banks was not susceptible to such gloom. To him, being in baseball’s desert only meant an oasis was just beyond the next dune. Each year, he arrived at spring training with a different optimistic slogan: The Cubs are due in ’62 ... will come alive in ’65 ... will be heavenly in ’67-ly ... will shine in ’69 ... will glow in ’7-0.
He hit 512 home runs. Rather than towering blasts, they were usually line drives that left the ballpark lickety-split over the left-field wall. Banks was not a well-chiseled muscleman. He was built narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, something like a pear. His strength was in his wrists.
The soundtrack to each of these home runs was provided by the announcer Jack Brickhouse. “That’s hit, that’s pretty well hit,” he would begin, building to a gleeful crescendo, “Hey, hey!” As Banks loped around the bases, the announcer added a grateful “Attaboy, Ernie.”
Banks was the first black player on the Cubs, arriving a full six years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. The Cubs, slow on the basepaths, had been equally slow to integrate.
I knew the outline of Ernie’s story. He grew up poor in Dallas, one of 12 children. His father picked cotton for a while. Ernie’s love for baseball began in high school. Before playing for the Cubs, he was with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues.
Back then, I had little notion of the world’s complexity. Why had black ballplayers been kept out of the major leagues? I hadn’t really thought about the answer. But I knew black players were terrific: Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, all the rest. I wondered how the Cubs could sign up some more.
My beloved team eventually became a winner, in the late ’60s. But the Amazin’ Mets kept the Cubs from the pennant in 1969. Chicago was nine games out front in mid-August. Then the team imploded. Cubs fans of a certain age have not had a good night’s sleep ever since.
The crusty, contentious Leo Durocher was the Cubs’ manager, and his hallmark sentiment was “Nice guys finish last.” He and Banks had human DNA in common but not much more. Mr. Cub was a sore-kneed first baseman by then, and the manager bad-mouthed him behind his back. Banks knew of the slights. With typical graciousness, he responded by calling Durocher the greatest manager of all time.
During those years, my own affection for Banks wavered. The Cubs were blessed with three other future Hall of Famers: Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Fergie Jenkins. Each was in his prime. The aging Banks, on the other hand, seemed to move around the bases as if the infield dirt were flooded with molasses.
And there was more to my misgivings. The 10-year-old boy from 1959 was a 20-year-old man in 1969, a year when the entire world seemed askew. The Vietnam War had torn America apart. The Chicago Eight went on trial. The civil rights movement had boiled over into street violence. My friends and I were passing around a copy of “Soul on Ice” by the Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver.
The sunny disposition of Mr. Cub seemed out of kilter with such unsettling times.
In 1969, Mark Kram, an outstanding writer for Sports Illustrated, wrote: “Banks does not appear to have much clout among the blacks. His lack of militancy bugs them, but, more important, they feel he is not part of The Cause.” Banks, Kram wrote, was perhaps “too saccharine amid the maelstrom of social calamities.”
Mr. Cub understood these reservations about his character, and he was unapologetic. He told Kram: “I care deeply about my people, but I’m not one to go about screaming over what I contribute. I’m not black or white. I’m just a human being trying to survive the only way I know how. I don’t make enemies. If I’m not crazy about somebody, he’ll never know it. I kill him with kindness.”
And that’s how he lived his life, a genuinely humane man who thought every day was beautiful. He tried to make people happy and wore his kindness like an amulet. Cubs fans will miss him terribly.
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient – Ernie Banks, The White House[75]
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